Last Updated on 1 July 2024 by Ariana Svenson
My kids say, “Scitech and the Perth Planetarium are absolutely the best”! This is one of their favorite places to visit in Perth and for our family one of the best kids activities Perth. What we love most is that after a visit to Scitech Perth we see the world in a more questioning way. Also a visit to the Perth Planetarium, without fail, means that we will look out to the night sky with more interest. For a few nights at least.
If you are visiting Perth in winter you might consider Scitech Museum Perth one of the best things to do in Perth on a rainy day -or extremely HOT summer day even! It keeps the kids enthralled and the parents sufficiently interested as well! Read on for our full Scitech Perth review.
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What Is Scitech Perth?
Scitech Perth is an interactive science museum aimed at kids or those big kids that love to explore their world. All the exhibits are hands-on, designed to get you to engage, test, and figure things out for yourself.
That is the excitement! All around Sci Tech Museum you can hear calls of “Mum, Dad … come and look at this”! The young ones are captivated as they figure out the weird and wonderful elements of science all around them, in full color. There are plenty of adults having a great time too.
In keeping with Scitech’s scientific discovery theme, you should allow plenty of time for breakthroughs and experiment. If you arrive mid-morning there are queues at many of the exhibits and it is usually busy. However, if you arrive a bit later there are not so many people. That said, make sure you allow enough time to explore all the different parts and we recommend at least 3 hours but longer is better.
Scitech Planetarium Perth
After three visits to the Scitech Perth Museum and the Perth Planetarium, I can say that my favorite part consistently is the planetarium show. In our experience, the first part of the show is an exploration of Perth’s night sky, and this is done by an expert presenter. It is pretty interactive, allowing for questions and answers. The second half is a 3D movie that, so far, has always been intellectually stimulating for all ages. Honestly, it is pretty amazing for adults. Once we have learned about exploration to Mars, and most recently we saw “We Are Aliens” which explored what scientists are doing to discover life on other planets.
Make sure you allow time to visit this planetarium Perth and their shows that explore the universe. There are 3 shows a day – check out the showtimes when you arrive!
But We Have Been To Scitech Museum Perth Before … !
In our experience (after 3 visits, about 1.5 years apart each time) it doesn’t matter if you have been to Scitech Perth before. To start with, my kids seem to enjoy visiting old favorites and there is a sense of familiarity and comfort in doing their favorites again and again.
Plus, this Perth science museum has new exhibits that change periodically. On our last visit, the exhibition was “Earth Matters: Rethink The Future”. The exhibits were all designed for us to consider adapting our way of living for a more sustainable future. My favorite exhibit was the Six Seasons In One Day Virtual Discovery as the Noongar people shared their precious knowledge of the six-season calendar cycle.
If you are still looking for something different take a look at 101 Awesome Things to do in Perth with Kids. Also, An Awesome Perth Itinerary for Family Travellers is a worthy read as well.
What about Scitech Perth for Toddlers and Younger Kids?
There is plenty at Scitech Planetarium to keep the little ones entertained. Discoverland is rated for 0-6 years and is a fenced-off area to keep out larger kids. Other sections are described as “all ages” and we can see how even a small baby would be fascinated by the sights and sounds. When my kids were younger they spent a lot of time in the Kaatadjin Koorliny section, especially chasing flying clothes around the room!
The Puppet Theatre is also targeted at very young children. There are simple but fun puppet shows that capture their imagination. Like the planetarium and science theatre shows, the puppet shows run 3-4 times a day. You should check out the program at the beginning of the day.
Take Home Message
If you want to encourage science and creative thinking in your children, then a visit to Scitech and the Perth Planetarium is a great kids activities Perth for you.
Sci Tech Museum and the Perth Planetarium: Useful Stuff
Plan Your Day
There are a number of theaters around Scitech offering different shows. For the older ones, there are lots of explosions at the Chevron Science Theatre. For the younger ones’ check out the puppet shows.
On arrival get your timetable and don’t miss the shows. SciTech is not big so once the show is over you can get back to where you left off in the general experiments section! I’ve found breaking up the play (or experimentation) with shows is the best way to keep them enthusiastic.
Meals
There is no cafeteria or food on site. We packed our own lunch and ate there. This maximized the playtime for the kids.
You can leave Scitech and visit one of the restaurants in the City West Shopping Center.
How Long do I Need to Visit Scitech Perth?
You would need at least 2 hours to see at least some of the exhibits. However, more time would be better. We normally spend about 5 hours at Scitech, including a break for lunch. On all three occasions that we have visited Scitech, we’ve arrived around 11 am and stayed until closing. In the last hour until closing, most of the exhibits are without a queue and the kids have been able to go back again and again on their favorites!
Comparison with other Science Centres
Compared with other science and discovery centers around the world, Scitech Perth is quite small and some of the exhibits are a bit dated. For example, after visiting the Art Science Museum in Singapore (which is seriously a WOW) Scitech is quite modest. However, if your children don’t have anything to compare to, they will love Scitech…or if they are small. I still think that Scitech is the best value for money indoor activity in Perth. It is great for the rainy days in winter or the scorching days of summer. Our kids have definitely become sci tech kids.
What Age is Best
On our last visit, the kids were aged 10 and 7, and they had an absolute ball. The visit prior to that they had been 8 and 5. Both visits were fantastic, as the way that the experiments are designed, even very young kids can see the questions posed. On the last visit, I sat down doing my own thing on the exhibits while they ran around like crazy folk.
Entry Fee – Scitech
At writing, the entry fee for an adult was $19, a child (4-12) $12. Scitech also offers a cool “mini-group” which consists of 2 Adults & 2 kids, or 1 adult and 3 kids for $52. Buy your Scitech tickets here.
School Holidays
In keeping with their mandate as a center of science and innovation, there are always new and interesting activities during the school holidays. This means that you can visit various times and there is always something new to see. If your kids are like ours, they also love to visit old favorites and get as much joy out of that. This Perth science museum wants to turn kids into Sci Tech kids! Meaning they love it and want to keep coming back.
Parking at Scitech and Perth Planetarium
Parking is available under the City West Shopping Center and costs $5 all day. Take a look at the picture – you DON’T PAY in the carpark! Instead, pay inside a special discounted parking machine for Scitech. Make sure you take note of your number plate as you will need it when you validate your parking machine inside the City West complex.
The Verdict – Our Scitech Perth Review & The Perth Planetarium
We really love Scitech! It is definitely a place that the kids want to go back to again and again. As a parent, I find Scitech the perfect combination of fun and learning about the world around us. As an adult, I find myself discovering my inner child, or at other times thinking “wow I never knew that”! It’s nice to be able to discover once again!
Want More Information about Perth Western Australia?
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